


The Reason for her Smile.

by rjwritergirl



Category: Agent Carter (TV), Captain America - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, Steggy Week 2020
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-23
Updated: 2020-07-23
Packaged: 2021-03-05 05:13:34
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,821
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25459108
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rjwritergirl/pseuds/rjwritergirl
Summary: Colonel Phillip's thoughts on a certain Agent and a certain Captain.
Relationships: Peggy Carter/Steve Rogers
Comments: 6
Kudos: 107





	The Reason for her Smile.

**Author's Note:**

> Steggy Week, Day 5: Outsider POV: Colonel Phillips with slight Howling Commandos and Howard Stark thrown in for good measure.

Although he’d probably never admit it out loud, Phillips knew that Captain Rogers and Agent Carter were intelligent and very good at their jobs. It stood to reason that if they had to work together, they would make a good team. And when Colonel Phillips sent Agent Carter into the field with the Commandos, they  _ usually _ did very well.  But as he finished his dinner, Phillips eavesdropped on no less than six of the Howling Commandos as they discussed their last mission and how Agent Carter and Captain Rogers had nearly fumbled the entire damn thing. Carter and Rogers had to pose as a married couple; they’d gotten distracted and nearly let eight HYDRA agents slip by them.

Dugan was of the opinion that they needed to lock Rogers and Carter in a room for a few hours. “They won’t last an hour before they’re undressed and we’ll finally get some peace from the yearning glances.”

Barnes, who knew Rogers better than anyone else in the entire Army, said that he was sure that Rogers had written home and asked Barnes’ mother to find the ring Steve had inherited from his own mother.

Jones and Dernier thought they made a cute couple but they shouldn't be pushed into anything. Phillips silently agreed with the pair. Even ignoring that there was a war on, he knew Rogers well enough to know the boy would want to do things right: woo and court Carter, rather than get engaged just because you never knew what the next day would bring. The boy may have been naive around women, but he was raised to be a gentleman and Rogers would happily treat Carter with the respect she (rightfully) demanded.

Falsworth and Morita thought they should wait until after the war to lock them in a room. “The last thing we need is for the rubber to break and then both Cap and Carter will be pulled for the duration.”

Phillips didn’t bother to correct Morita that only Carter would be pulled from the field and probably fired for good measure. But Phillips thanked his lucky stars that Carter had more sense than most of the men in the army  _ combined _ . He made a mental note to talk with Carter about the mission the next time he saw her as he left the mess hall.

An hour later, Phillips found Carter and Rogers huddled under a tree. Rogers had a sketchbook in front of him and was showing Carter a page. She looked up, smiling, and he blushed.

Internally groaning at how cozy they looked, Phillips approached the pair. Before he could say anything, Carter straightened, Rogers’ sketchbook snapped closed and both of them needlessly smoothed their uniforms before looking Phillips in the eye.

“Carter, I need to speak with you. Privately,” he brusquely interrupted the pair.

Carter stood and stepped up to keep pace with Phillips. “Yes, Colonel?”

“I hear you and Rogers got distracted on your last mission.” It came out as a statement, not a question.

Carter swallowed, her jaw twitching. She hadn’t included that in her report, so that meant one or more of the Howling Commandos had tattled. “About that, Colonel....."

“I don’t care what kind of a crush you have on Rogers,” Phillips interrupted. “But I don’t want whatever happened in Poland to happen again, understood? You're a good agent and you and Rogers make a good team, but I will separate you if I have too.”

“It’s not a crush, sir,” Carter lied to his face, her own face now void of any emotion. “But it won’t happen again either. There’s no need to change our orders.”

Phillips knew he was getting soft in his old age when he didn’t have the heart to contradict Carter’s lie. He waved her away and she turned back to the tree Rogers was sketching under. As she approached Rogers, the smile and blush on her cheeks told Phillips much more than any words she would ever dare say to her commanding officer.

_ Not a crush? _ Phillips would never admit it out loud, but he hoped those two crazy kids got married after the war.

But for them, there was no ‘after the war’.

Rogers’ plane crashed, the war ended, and several years passed. He, Carter, and Stark founded a new agency: SHIELD.

They worked long hours, going to and from work in the dark, or sleeping in the office when they absolutely couldn’t leave. Because they spent so much time together, he unwittingly learned that Carter had dated since the end of the war. In fact, she’d broken things off with an SSR agent before the move to DC. That Carter had dated surprised him, but he was also secretly proud that she wasn’t wallowing in self-pity.

One Friday, about a year after the founding of SHIELD, Carter called in sick and took a long weekend. That in and of itself was surprising, although he should have seen it coming considering the hours they were putting in. When she came back, she still worked hard, but wouldn’t stay as late. She came in less on the weekends, and although the quality of her work was the same, Phillips could tell she was more easily distracted.

She smiled and laughed more though, and she seemed happier than he’d ever seen her. He was happy that she seemed to have met someone but admitted to himself that he would have liked to see her happy with Rogers. Damn HYDRA and damn that red skulled freak.

Stark kept asking why Carter no longer put long hours in. Heavens knew the agency could use them all at the office longer. She sidestepped the questions neatly until Phillips finally got sick of them and ordered Stark to stop asking Carter about her private life. If she wanted to share with them she would. 

Inwardly, Phillips tried not to worry. He knew her heart was still tender after Rogers' death. And maybe his heart was too.

One Sunday evening, Phillips and Stark were at the office when they came across a code they couldn’t figure out. Knowing they needed Carter’s expertise, Stark called the home number they had for her, but she didn’t pick up.

“We need this done before morning,” Stark said.

“Keep calling her,” Phillips said, “If she hasn’t picked up in an hour we’ll surprise her at home.”

An hour and a half later, Stark’s butler pulled up to Carter’s house. The driveway was empty and the house dark. “She can’t stay away forever,” Stark said. Stark’s butler turned the car off and the three of them settled in to wait for her to return home.

They were in luck, Carter pulled up less than half an hour later. “She’s got someone in the car with her.” Stark’s butler noticed the shape of a man at the same time Phillips did. Phillips made a mental note to offer Jarvis a job if Stark was ever stupid enough to fire him, and the three of them got out of the car.

Carter got out of her own car, blocking their view of her passenger seat. “Is everything alright gentlemen?” Carter asked, her tone was jovial, but she looked between the three of them apprehensively.

“We need your help with a code,” Stark said. “We’ve called you. Four times.”

“I was on a date,” Cater said easily. Without turning, she spoke behind her, to the man in her car. “Darling, please put the car in the garage, and then come in through the front door.” There was the murmur of a man’s voice and the car pulled ahead in the driveway. Phillips didn’t see anything more than a flash of blond hair.

“Won’t you come in, gentlemen?” At first glance, Phillips thought Carter lived alone. But then he saw a sketchbook on a hall table, a knitted sweater hanging on the stair banister, and finally, in the kitchen; two mugs sitting between the coffee maker and the tea kettle on the stove, two sets of dishes in the drainer by the sink and a pair of men’s boots by the door that led to the backyard. Either she was cohabitating, or the boyfriend in the car didn’t spend very much time at his place.

Phillips sighed. He would never fire her for cohabitating. SHIELD needed her too badly, and she knew it. But it would look awful if people found out that she was shacking up instead of getting married. Hopefully, the boyfriend planned on proposing. If not, he would take the boy aside and convince him.

“We need help with this.” Stark slid the papers in front of Carter and she quickly got to work. Phillips could see the wheels turning in Carter’s brain as she bent over the papers in front of her.

“When did you get this?” she asked. A diamond sparkled on her left hand. Well, that solved that. Maybe he could convince the two of them to move the wedding up a few months. Carter wasn't dressed up to get proposed to though, which, unless she’d been surprised with the ring, meant it wasn't new. How long had she been engaged? How serious were she and this guy? Phillips nearly said something but heard the man walking by the side yard. The kitchen windows were blocked by a tall shrub so all he saw was another flash of blond hair and part of a blue sweater.

“Last night. We tried to figure it out ourselves.” Stark’s head tilted as he noticed the ring. “Where’d the ring come from, Peg?"

“Why haven’t you said anything about him, Miss Carter?” Jarvis asked.

“Phillips had it nearly right,” Carter scribbled out something and corrected Phillips’ translation, “and I’ll introduce you once he comes in.” She looked up from the code, eyes sparking but her tone was serious. “I’m sure of this. Part of me worried if I introduced you too early this would turn into the dream I’ve had for years.”

“What would turn into a dream, Miss Carter?” Jarvis asked.

The front door opened and Phillips turned, but the light was no good and he couldn’t see Carter’s boyfriend, just a shadowy bulk that meant the man was strong and broad.

“I’m sure it’s him,” Carter said quietly, unable to hide her smile anymore. For a moment, Phillips was blown away at the smile on Carter’s face. Inner happiness beamed out of her.

“Sure it's who?” Howard turned to face the front door.

“I double and triple checked. But I understand if you need too as well,” was Carter’s only response. She folded the papers with the code and handed them to Phillips. Phillips stuck the papers into his pocket as the man stepped up.

Rogers looked sheepish, but also like he’d aged fifteen years instead of five. And the last three months suddenly made sense. And Phillips knew the reason for Carter’s smile.


End file.
